


I Still Love Him

by KitkatDragon



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cheating, Complicated Relationships, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Love, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25337278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitkatDragon/pseuds/KitkatDragon
Summary: Basically, a one-shot about Zeus and Hera's marriage (depicted in some of Rick Riordan's books) based on the monologue written by Lana Del Ray called I still Loved Him. It's how Hera feels about her marriage, back in the beginning, and then later on. Rated T just in case.
Relationships: Hera/Zeus (Percy Jackson)
Kudos: 3





	I Still Love Him

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything written by Rick Riordan or the National Anthem Monologue by Lana Del Ray.

_ I remember when I met him, _

_ It was so clear that _

_ He was the only one for me. _

_ We both knew it, right away. _

Hera had scoffed at Zeus when he originally began to court her. He was a player who’d been married before. He flirted with anything that breathed, and she didn’t want to be another conquest of the King of Gods. 

But even Hera couldn’t ignore the instant attraction she felt when she met Zeus. The chemistry was evident to all of their fellow gods and goddesses. And Zeus persisted, using all of his skills and talents to gain the attention of the young Goddess. 

That’s why she made that bet, the one where he had to get Hera to say she loved him. She wanted Zeus to prove himself, and if he could get her to love him, and admit it, then he’d have proven himself. And boy did he.

Hera had to commend Zeus’ clever and cunning plan with the disguise of a cuckoo bird. So she agreed to be with Zeus if he married her and remained loyal to her. So they got married and had the most magnificent wedding in the history of the Gods. 

And for three-hundred-years, they were happy. Hera gave birth to five children: Ares, Enyo, Hebe, Eileithyia, and Hephestus (though technically Hephestus wasn’t Zeus’ child.

They might’ve stayed happy, too. If only Hera had made Zeus swear on the River Styx to remain loyal to her.

_ And as the years went on, things got more difficult -- _

_ We were faced with more challenges. _

_ I begged him to stay.  _

_ Try to remember what _

_ We had at the beginning.  _

But then Zeus went back to his old ways of chasing and seducing women. It infuriated Hera to see her husband being unfaithful. So she swore to make all of his mistresses (and any illegitimate children born from Zeus’ affairs) miserable for the rest of their lives. 

That wasn’t enough for her, though. Hera tried to revolt against Zeus, and turn the other gods against him. That didn’t end well for Hera. If it weren’t for Hephestus, Hera would still be chained above the Void of Chaos, crying for her husband to come and free her.

During the Trojan war, Zeus made the smart decision to stay neutral (or at least pretend that he was). But Hera knew the truth; he was all for the Trojans while Hera was on the side of the Greeks. Said Trojans had Aphrodite, who was chosen by Paris as the “fairest goddess”, on their side. It broke Hera’s heart to know her husband would rather back up another woman instead of his wife.

Then again, Zeus was always breaking her heart so this was, unfortunately, nothing new. 

_ He was charismatic, magnetic, _

_ Electric _ _ and everybody knew it.  _

_ When he walked in,  _

_ Every woman's head turned,  _

_ Everyone stood up to talk to him.  _

As much as she hated to admit it, Hera understood the pull Zeus’ mistresses felt when it came to the King of Gods. He was handsome (incredibly so), powerful (obviously), talented (especially with magic), and stubborn (which is what got Hera to marry him), and irresistibly charming (that smile still made Hera’s heart melt). 

Metis, his first lover, and mother of Athena. Themis, his ex-wife, and mother of the Fates. Mnemosyne, his other ex-wife, and mother of the nine Muses. And Leto, mother of the twins, Apollo and Artemis. They were all gorgeous in their own way, and all of them fell for Zeus.

Practically every goddess seemed to fall for Zeus. When the King of the Gods, who was basically the ruler of the world, paid attention to them, they all felt special. Their short-lived romance was electric (literally). Deep down, Hera couldn’t truly blame them (though she still did because she still hated the women despite everything). 

_ He was like this hybrid,  _

_ This mix of _

_ A man who couldn't contain himself. _

What really made Hera’s blood boil was when Zeus went after mortals. Sure, some looked like they were the hottest supermodels in the world, but they were still mortals.

What did mortal women with incredibly short life spans have that Hera didn’t? 

But it was even easier to understand how those women must’ve felt. Being courted by a God was the biggest honor a Greek woman could receive. It was a title, something that they’d be known for centuries after they died. And if the King of Gods fell for women like them, he must have made them feel invincible with Zeus by their side.

Until Hera’s wrath was unleashed upon them, a harsh reality check not too far behind.

_ I always got the sense that he became torn _

_ Between being a good person and _

_ Missing out on all of the opportunities that life could _

_ Offer a man as magnificent as him. _

Zeus could do whatever he wanted without repercussions. He was the King, the God who  _ had _ to be respected by all. He was worshipped by millions, under penalty of Godly anger, but also because of respect or whatever. So it made sense that he could have whatever and whomever he wanted. 

As the years passed, Hera finally began to see what was really going on in her husband’s mind. Sure, Zeus had a lot of pride, but no ruler was ever able to be untouched by anxiety and self-doubt throughout their reign. 

Hera could see how Zeus cracked under pressure, trying his best despite the fact that no one had taught him how to rule. His father ate him, and her too but that wasn’t the point, so Zeus had to send him to Tartarus when the master of lighting escaped. Without his father to help him learn the ropes, Zeus had to wing it, and when he made mistakes, he had to cover them up before anyone else knew.

Otherwise, he felt like he’d lose their respect. And Zeus couldn’t live without the worship and unwavering loyalty that respect got him. He needed positive attention, and who better to get attention from than young women who would obey his every whim just to be smiled at?

_ And in that way,  _

_ I understood him. _

_ And I loved him. _

_ I loved him, _

_ I loved him,  _

_ I loved him. _

Hera understood her husband, and Zeus knew that. So from time to time, in between affairs, he’d crawl into their bed at night and love Hera just like he had at the beginning of their marriage. And Hera could almost fool herself into believing that he had changed.

But he never would. Despite it all, Hera loved him. He was her husband, and to her, marriage was sacred. To Hera, he was her one true love, and she’d never love another. 

Once, he had meant everything to the Goddess of Marriage. Until Hera came to the realization that the life she now lived was her new reality. It was something she had to, reluctantly, accept. 

Her love had never wavered for Zeus, though it was now changed. She now had to pretend she wasn’t hurt by the cheating (at least in front of her husband, anyway). Because Hera understood Zeus, and Zeus understood her. He understood her need to still remain by his side. Even though she had to love him from afar, at least Hera could still love him.

_ And I still love him. _

_ I love him. _

**Author's Note:**

> The first time I heard this, I immediately thought of Zeus (mostly because of the ‘electric’ line) and Hera (who loves Zeus despite his many, many, many affairs). Btw, this story was written ages ago and posted on fanfiction.net (DragonBookLoverKitkat913) but I only just got an AO3 account so here it is. I hope you enjoyed the story!   
> \- Kitkat Out!


End file.
